Freddy has problems. Some of them are because he's autistic. But most of them are becuase he's a teenager.

"Consider this the antidote to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Whereas Mark Haddon’s 2003 novel ... presented a barely functional savant, the 17-year-old at the heart of Aaron Cully Drake’s debut is someone that the majority of autistic people might recognize ... Freddy is an authentically exasperating teenager." —The Globe and Mail

Aaron Cully Drake was inspired to write his debut novel, Do You Think This is Strange? when he began to wonder what his daughter would be like in her teens. He wanted to write a story that provided a different take on autism. On the outside, Freddy is unemotional, literal, and has difficulties holding long conversations. On the inside, however, he is a symphony of thoughts and ideas. The main character thinks in rich verse, thick with metaphors and sarcasm—all of which, Drake says, is an anathema to autism, or the common perception of what an autistic person is supposed to be like.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada
through the Canada Book Fund (CBF),a part of the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for the Arts and the BC Arts Council.